Lighting Notebook

We held our "Art of Light" workshop at the studio last week with great success. If you missed out fear not, we will be adding more classes on new and repeat topics in the coming weeks and months. If you have a topic you would like us to do a class on, feel free to drop us a note. Some of the upcoming classes will be Photoshop, Newborn Photography, Sports Action, Art of Light, and Camera Basics for DSLR users.

During the Art of Light class, we referenced several books which have great lighting ideas. One of my favorites is Kevin Kubota's Lighting Notebook. It note only has a great section in the beginning on light, but it also has lighting recipes and step by step details on how he achieved specific shots. I have included a direct link to his website to purchase your own copy of the book which also includes a free set of Lightroom Actions. Purchasing from the link helps us bring you more of our workshops.

Braves Hockey

The Art of Light

Our next class at the studio will be Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 p.m. called The Art of Light. We will be exploring different ways of seeing light and using multiple different light sources to experiment with different looks in the studio. This will be a hands on class where we will be shooting and sharing images, so bring your cameras and any creative lighting tools.

The class is $40 and will go from 7:00-10:00. If you would like to attend, please e-mail info@cheslerphoto.com or call the studio at 585-393-9242.

Snowless in Seattle

I love winter weddings, in fact, so much so that I have a website devoted exclusively to them at WinterWeddingPhotography.com. This winter however has been a bit of a downer for snow lovers, including brides looking for the fairly tale winter wonderland. WHo would have guessed that we'd be in to the second week of February with little snow to speak of the entire winter so far?

Yesterday, Amanda and I had the pleasure of shooting the wedding of Barb and Marc at the Methodist Church in Canandaigua with a reception at The Inn on the Lake. We also go to work with some o our favorite vendors from Flowers By Stella and Nathan Baker from Finger Lakes Entertainment. Despite the lack of snow, we were treated to an awesome sunset on the pier in Canandaigua with the backdrop of the boat houses on the north end of the lake.

Barb owns a dance studio in Geneva so their first dance was a treat, complete with blue tap shoes for both Barb and Marc.

2 Day Canvas Sale

In conjunction with our labs winter sale, we are offering 30% Off our canvas gallery wraps for two days only. The sale ends at 10 a.m. Thursday morning. Canvas Gallery Wraps are images printed on stretched canvas with the image wrapping around the edge so no framing is necessary. We have many samples of these in the studio so feel free to stop by with any questions or to see some of them. If you do stop by, please call first to make sure we are in since our hours vary during the winter. 585-393-9242

Old Man and the Sea

Growing up on Long Island, I spent many weekends on our boat on Long Island Sound. We would fish for Blue Fish, Fluke, Flounder and other salt water critters. Closing up the boat after a day out on the water always seemed to be such a monumental task, hosing the salt water off of everything. I always hated the gritty feeling between my fingers of salt water, but that feeling now brings back fond memories of countless hours on the water with my Dad.

I just returned from a trip to Florida to participate in a bridal show at the Hollywood Beach Marriott. We've always offered our services in South Florida having a home base in Boca Raton. With the kids getting older and my tolerance for long, cold winters shrinking, it's time to ramp up our presence in Florida to fill in our winter schedule.

While I was down there, I spent a few days with my buddy Daryn who is a wedding photographer down at Disney World. He spends a lot of his free time on the coast of Florida in Titusville, running his flats boat up and down the Indian River on the prowl for Red Fish. He's been trying to get me down their to fish since he moved down there two years ago, so this was my chance. We spent almost ten hours on the water in search of the elusive Red Fish with no luck. We did see one patrolling the flats in search of bait fish but had no luck catching it. I did however manage to catch a Sea Trout. I didn't do much casting with my arm still in a sling. We did however get pulled over by the Florida Wildlife Commission for going a little too fast in a Manatee zone.

I didn't see a Manatee but we were treated to Osprey diving for bait fish, an Alligator roaming the flats, more Dolphins than I could count a ton of Horse Show Crabs crawling on the sea floor. We pulled back in the marina at sunset, putting a perfect exclamation point to the end of a great day. I even enjoyed the gritty salt water feel between my fingers.

Paradise

I finished a fun slideshow in preparation for the Hollywood Beach Marriott Bridal Show I am a vendor at this Sunday in Florida. It will be nice to get a little break from winter, even though it has been completely mild until today's four degree temperature.

Shoot Your Own Session

As a child, my dream was to become a fighter pilot in the Air Force. That dream died in tenth grade when I got my first pair of glasses. As a photographer, I'd give my right arm, wait, make that my left arm, to go up in a fighter jet and photograph the ride. I'd also love to practice in goal with an NHL team just to see if I could do it, with both arms of course. If I could do someone else's job for day, the list would be long - driving a freight train or 18-wheeler, a stock car, a writer for a car magazine, a fly fishing guide...

A few weeks ago I was brain storming to try and find ways to bring in some income during the slower winter months. One of the ideas was to offer my expertise to those who ever wanted to have my job for an hour. With all the new cameras people receive as Christmas gifts, I thought this was the perfect time to offer a "Shoot Your Own Session" promotion. Here's how it will work. For $75, you get to bring your family/friends to the studio for an hour and use my backgrounds, strobes, props, etc... under my guidance to create your own portrait. I will then walk you through some Photoshop skills where we will print an 8x10 for you to take with you. All the images you create are yours to keep.

We will be offering this for a limited time before the studio starts filling with senior portraits. You can book this for yourself or buy it for someone as a great gift. Call the studio at 585-393-9242 or e-mail info@cheslerphoto.com for more details or to book your session.

Photography Classes

For years I have been toying with the idea of offering photography classes at the studio and now is the time to get it going. I will be doing a wide range of classes, some more basic than others, covering a wide range of topics. I've decided to offer classes on the things people ask me about most from simple camera settings to sports action to Trash the Dress portraits. Below is a list of classes along with the dates, times and price for each class. Contact me directly to reserve your spot at steve@cheslerphoto.com or by calling the studio at 585-393-9242. Class size is limited so call early to get your spot.

Camera Basics - Learn what each button does and how it fits in to real world situations to get the most out of your camera.
Tuesday 1/17 7-9 p.m. $25

Sports Photography - Geared toward those wanting to get the best shots from soccer field to the ice rink. We'll go over camera settings, equipment selection and shooting techniques as well as some after the shoot computer tricks and products.
Tuesday 1/24 7-9 p.m. $25

The Art of Lighting - This is for the photographer wanting to take their photography skills to the next level. Knowing the camera is one thing, being able to see light differently to turn snap shots in to art is another. We will explore natural light, on and off camera flash as well as alternative light sources.
Tuesday 2/7 7-10 p.m. $40

Winter Trash the Dress - Have you ever wanted to shoot a Trash the Dress session but could never find a bride willing to do it. Here is a great opportunity to photograph one of the hottest trends in photography and at the same time getting some spectacular winter scenery. We will start at the studio and then travel to several locations. We will have model brides and touch and several different lighting techniques to create truly dramatic images. We will finish back at the studio sharing some of the images using Photoshop and Lightroom. This class if not for the faint of heart as we will do the class regardless of the weather.
Wednesday 2/15 9 a.m.- 3 p.m. $75

We will also be offering one-on-one classes with topics and dates at your convenience. Classes will be based on an hourly rate of $25 per hour. Call for availability.

Gift Certificate Sale

Back by popular demand, we are once again offering our gift certificate sale for Christmas. Beginning now and continuing through Christmas Day, we will be offering "Buy One, Get One Free" Gift Certificates or "Double Value" on one certificate. The gift certificates are for new sessions only and will be valid from January 1st, 2012 through April 30, 2012. The certificates are good toward sessions and product orders. After April 30, 2012 the certificates are still good, they are just at face value. Call the studio at 585-393-9242 to purchase a certificate which comes tastefully wrapped for immediate giving.